


The Once and Future King of Games

by conicaru



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Future, Other, Work In Progress
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-09
Updated: 2019-01-09
Packaged: 2019-10-07 07:28:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 990
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17361635
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/conicaru/pseuds/conicaru
Summary: A glimpse into the life of the former King of Games, Yugi Muto, now 30 years old.***The current version is a rough, rough draft. The story may change drastically depending on what direction I end up taking it.





	The Once and Future King of Games

**Author's Note:**

> ***Version 0.5***

The Once and Future King of Games

Yugi Muto grumbled as the sun broke through the window of his room. He never really cared for mornings to begin with, and the four years he had spent running the game shop had done nothing to change that. Eventually, he struggled his way out of bed and got ready for work.  
Yugi looked in the mirror, and stared longingly at his hair. It bore some resemblance to how it looked back in high school, back when people still talked about Yugi Muto, the King of Games, but it lacked the length and the volume, and really, it looked the same underneath a bandana anyway. Yugi put on the bandana, the same style as his grandpa’s, and went to open the shop.  
Business was slow, as always, at least until school got out, when the kids came in. The games business had remained fairly constant, but sales of the biggest game, Duel Monsters, had remained low. Yugi wasn’t sure why, but for whatever reason, the devoted Duel Monsters players chose to hang out elsewhere, and anyway, Yugi wasn’t inclined to appeal to them. And so he continued to work the store without them, showing kids new games when they came in, and playing mobile games when they weren’t.  
It was 5:30 when the phone rang. It was Tristan, explaining that he was supposed to help with an event at the school, and he couldn’t stop by at 6 like he usually did. Yugi was never sure how Tristan managed to get hired as a teacher at Domino High, or how much he really enjoyed the job, but he did know two things: that Tristan seemed to enjoy his visits with Yugi, and that of his friends from high school, Tristan was the only one he got to see regularly. He looked at today’s mail, in particular a flyer he had received all the way from New York City. It read, “Live From Madison Square Garden – The Nihon Magical Girls World Tour!” He gazed at his childhood friend, posing alongside the other members of her group. It seemed that Tea had accomplished her dream, at least.  
More kids came in and out of the shop for a few more hours, and then the store went quiet after 9. Normally, Yugi would keep the store open late, but there weren’t any events being held at the store tonight, and that no one would come in this late otherwise, so he closed the shop down. Besides, he had someplace to be.   
The lights at the pier shone bright as Yugi made his way towards the sea. He took off his bandana and looked at it. For whatever reason, this is where he felt closest to his grandpa now that he had passed. Or maybe, Yugi thought, the sea brought back memories of when Yugi himself was happiest, when he and his friends left the confines of this town and bounced from adventure to crazy adventure, culminating to Yugi vaulting to the top of the Duel Monsters world. Yugi sighed. The days of Yugi Muto, King of Games were long over, and the days of Yugi Muto, game shop owner, seemed to stretch into perpetuity.   
Yugi turned to leave, and as he did, he noticed his shadow in front of him. This had to be a trick, Yugi thought, as his shadow, stretched by the light overhead, reflected a different Yugi. This Yugi was taller, had longer hair, and, maybe this was Yugi’s imagination, but seemed to be more confident than Yugi. Yugi instantly recognized who his shadow resembled.   
It was him. Yami, or Atem, as it turned out his true name was. His partner.  
Time stood still as Yugi stared at this apparition. His shadow hadn’t moved, just he hadn’t, but Yugi could feel it observing him. It seemed curious about what had become of his former partner – curious, but slightly disappointed as well. At this, Yugi addressed the shadow.  
“What do you want? Why did you show up now?”  
The shadow remained silent. However, Yugi could feel the shadow communicating with him. You were supposed to be King of Games, it said. I entrusted it to you.  
“I was King of Games!” Yugi shouted. “We were King of Games! And I defended the title as best as I could. But…but…” Yugi struggled to find the words. “I wasn’t strong enough. And then when Grandpa passed, someone had to take over the game shop, and…” Yugi paused for a moment.  
“…I wasn’t good enough. I’m sorry.” Yugi felt a small piece of his heart freeze, shrivel, and crumble to dust. It was something he had experienced ever since the day he lost the title of King of Games: crushing failure.  
After a while, more words appeared in Yugi’s head. So you’ve given up, then?  
Yugi blinked. “What do you mean?” With that, Yugi’s shadow darted away, down the street. Yugi chased after it, desperate to prove that he was not the loser his partner thought him to be. The shadow dashed through the empty streets, and Yugi followed. Finally, Yugi’s shadow dipped into an alleyway, out of sight. Yugi, catching his breath, approached the entrance to the alley, not sure what he would find.  
Yudan sunk to his knees. This was the time, he told himself, that he would win, and keep his friends from being picked on. But once again, it wasn’t enough. Once the other kids left the alley, he took off the Duel Disk and stared at his deck. These were the cards he had since he started playing Duel Monsters, but were they not good enough? Tears began to well up in his eyes. Suddenly, he realized that someone else was there. An adult, albeit a short one. The man walked up and offered his hand.  
“My name is Yugi Muto. Would you like to become a better duelist?”

END


End file.
